Kippers for Breakfast? Mummy Dear, Mummy Dear.. Quiz

Answer: America

I thought we'd kick off with this quiz with a question with a tenuous link to the subject matter. A typical breakfast here may consist of a serving of thick pancakes drizzled with syrup and topped with blueberries finished off with rashers of grilled bacon.

However, an American friend tells me that this would be more likely to be served for breakfast on a special occasion. Apparently most Americans prefer more simple fare on a day-to-day basis. This might include granola - that's muesli to a European - orange juice and lots and lots of coffee. Personally I'd opt for a mug of strong English breakfast tea but Americans have a strange aversion to that beverage... I can't think why?

Answer: Alaska

I'm not so certain about this so maybe any Alaskan FT members could confirm this for me? I'd have thought that modern Alaskans, with air and road transport links available would eat the same as anybody else in the contiguous United States; but my research shows that Alaskans do actually eat reindeer with their breakfast. Apparently it is used as a replacement for the more usual bacon and is served with an egg and placed on top of a pancake.

Answer: England

Order a 'Full English' in any British cafe and you'll be confronted with a myriad of variations on a theme; maybe it's about time that we started calling these meals a Full British? These breakfasts are very popular and many cafes will offer them as a challenge... If you can eat it all in under an hour, you get it for free! Easy, you might think; however the largest breakfast that I've ever seen cost just under twenty pounds to buy and consisted of nearly eight pounds of food including twelve sausages, an eight egg omelette, a further six fried eggs and six large pieces of black pudding... Oh, and before they serve it, they require that the diner signs a disclaimer!

Whatever happened to 'everything in moderation'?

Answer: Indonesia

The peoples of many cultures across the world 'break (their) fast' upon waking in the morning. Devout followers of Islam are required to fast between dawn and dusk during Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. The meal served after sunset is known as the iftar and the meal served before dawn the following day is the suhoor. Both the iftar and the suhoor include fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and often halal meat. Regional variations include a type of doughnut called Chabbakia flavoured with orange blossom, honey and sesame in Morocco, Ramazan Kebabi created with lamb, yoghurt and onion in Turkey and Qatayef, a pancake stuffed with cheese and nuts, popular in Saudi Arabia.

Answer: Colombia

Changua, otherwise known as Colombian milk and egg soup, is a typical breakfast dish that you would be served in Bogota. It is often simply served with sliced bread, although sometimes the bread may already be in the bowl when the dish reaches the table.

I don't know what it is with soup, but Changua seems to be yet another variety that is supposed to help with clearing a hangover; clearly those who enjoy drinking also enjoy a good bowl of soup... And vice versa!

Answer: Caribbean

Ackee, a fruit from the same family as the lychee as first imported to the Caribbean during the latter decades of the eighteenth century from its home in West Africa. After preparation Ackee resembles scrambled eggs and is often served with white fish.

At first I thought "Fish, for breakfast? Surely not!" but then remembered that here in the United Kingdom we have been eating kippers, bloaters and smoked haddock for breakfast for many, many years; at least we do if we have kedgeree. Unless Ackee is prepared and cooked properly before serving, toxic substances hypoglycin A and B can give rise to a form of hypoglycaemia that is known as Jamaican vomiting sickness.

Answer: Egypt

Recipes for Foul Mudammas have been traced back as far as biblical times. Comprised predominately of fava beans which are one of the most ancient domesticated legumes, Foul Mudammas also includes chickpeas and garlic all topped and sprinkled with olive oil, egg, tahini - a thick paste produced from ground sesame seeds, oil and various spices with cayenne pepper being particularly popular.

Modern recipes for Foul Mudammas also allow for the use of lemon zest and lemon juice, but truly authentic recipes omit this altogether as lemons were not known in this part of the world during biblical times.

Answer: Mexico

This is a popular ingredient usually served in or with breakfast omelettes in Mexico. The corn is infected with spores of Ustilago maydis or corn smut; a disease that twists the kernels and turns them black, imparting the edible parts of the diseased plants with a mushroom-like flavour... Not for me thank you very much!

Answer: Iran

Halim, a type of thick, pureed stew, is popular right across the Islamic world; like many foods, the recipe above being typical, there is a great deal of regional variation but the basic ingredients always consist of wheat, lentils, barley and some meat, usually lamb or goat, both referred to as mutton, chicken and, on occasion, beef. Halim is often cooked communally with huge pots being prepared and cooked for very lengthy periods of time, sometimes several hours which gives this dish its distinctive smooth and creamy texture.

Not only is Halim a food served after dusk during Ramadan as a breakfast food but it is also a popular street food that can be eaten either hot or cold.

Answer: India

The paratha is not only popular in Kashmir; although it originates in the northern regions of India, parathas are popular across the sub-continent. Paneer, a word of Persian origin, is a non-aged cheese often made and eaten the same day. Paneer is white, mild in flavour and, depending upon the manner in which it is produced, varies in texture with some varieties being very crumbly similar to Wensleydale cheese whilst others are firm enough to be cut into slices just like a good Cheddar cheese.